Automatic valvular closure



June 11, 1968 w. R. soucY AUTOMATIC VALVULAR CLOSURE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed June 20,

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June 11, 1968 w. R. soucY AUTOMATIC VALVULAR CLOSURE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed June 20 1962 FIG. IO

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INVENTOR W M June 11, 1968 w. R. soucY AUTOMATIC VALVULAR CLOSURE 3Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 20, 1962 FIG.

lNVENTOR United States Patent 0 3,387,624 AUTOMATIC VALVULAR CLOSUREWilfred Roland Soucy, Loudonville, N.Y. (780. Box 1002, Troy, N.Y.12181) Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 855,488, Nov. 16,1959. This application June 20, 1962, Ser. No. 206,118

3 Claims. (Cl. 137525.1)

The present application is a continuation-in-part of my co-pendingapplication Ser. No. 855,488, filed Nov. 16, 1959, now abandonedentitled Automatic Valvular Closure, which was a continuation-in-part ofmy earlier application Ser. No. 723,624, filed Mar. 20, 1958, nowabandoned with which said application, Ser. No. 855,- 488 wasco-pending.

This invention relates to valvular closures of the type from whichviscous and non-viscous fluids and powders can be extruded.

This invention is directed to the novel use of an elasticallyelongatable member in the form of a tie to allow opening, automaticallyachieve closing and/or yieldably maintain closure. Unlike prior closingdevices, this member imparts new and valuable versatility to the designof automatic valvular closures, as herein disclosed, for many newapplications and gives birth to new embodiments that operate in a muchmore facile manner and are more economical of construction. In addition,such a member introduces or allows the use of new and more eflicientmaterials for the various components.

Many in the field have heretofore suggested devices to accomplishsimilar purposes but these were of specialized nature, ineflicient andhigh in cost. Such devices also lacked serviceability and, of primeimportance, did not provide an effective seal. Moreover, the outflowfrom these has always been discharged in an unsatisfactory shape andoften is difficult to control. For these reasons and others few haveachieved much, if any, commercial success.

The purposes of this invention are, therefore, to bring forth anautomatic valvular closure which overcomes the foregoing disadvantages,is economically feasible, and obviates many of the technicalcomplexities and limitations of the present art.

The closing means embodied by this invention features a new mode ofoperation accomplishing much greater structural simplicity coupled withmore versatile arrangement and interrelation of the cooperatingelements. For opening, the material of the closing means elongates orstretches and it automatically achieves closure by elastically returningto its original dimensions. Thus any practicable degree of closingpressure is easily obtained by merely introducing the correspondingamount of tensile prestress or pull therein.

Prior to this invention, one of the major problems had been thedevelopment of an automatic valvular closure for handling non-viscousvolatile liquids, such as thin petroleums and perfumes, which require acomplete seal to prevent evaporation during storage. Such a closurecalls for a body design with mating mouth elements that fully seat withrepeated use, and an effective closing eans that can be independentlyand accurately tensioned for positive closing action. These desires arereadily accomplished through the use of the aforementioned elasticallyelongatable member, Which is adaptable to innumerable designs of mouthelements providing greater utility, complete sealing and ease ofoperation.

In the field of packaging, the attributes of an elastically elongatableclosing means in the form of a tie enable the design of a handydisposable fitment useable on plastic squeeze containers, soft-metalcollapsible tubes,

etc., for dispensing fluids with ease and accuracy of placement. Such adispensing device is usually actuated 3,387,624 Patented June 11, 1968ice by applying a squeezing action to the container, thereby exerting apressure on thecontents therein. The pressure is transmitted by thecontents to a mouth element, causing the closing means to yield and thusallow the mouth element to open. The use of an elastically elongatablemember in the form of a tie for the closing means provides a low costdispensing device which automatically closes when the squeezing actionis removed, which is easily manipulated without skill and whichincorporates all of the aforementioned advantages and purposes of thisinvention.

The new mode of operation of the closing means also allows the use ofnew and more efiicient materials therefor, some of which are capable ofbeing stretched many times their unyielding length. Heretofore, theindependent closing means of prior devices were incapable of yieldingsufficiently to permit the mouth elements to fully open; thus theautomatic valvular closures utilizing such means had comparatively smalldischarge capacities for their size. The closing means embodied by thisinvention now allows larger apertures for vastly greater dischargecapacities, is adaptable to any practicable degree of opening pressureand, above such pressure, provides easy control throughout the flowrange.

The adaptability of elastically elongatable closing means as a tie andits inherent simplicity offer complete freedom to the design of theclosure body and the mouth elements thereof. Through its use aperturesof many different configurations may be created for obtaining extrusionsof various appealing and useful shapes as well as permitting the bodyand mouth elements to be mad of a material most suitable for thepurpose. These features also make possible the manufacture of theembodiments herein disclosed by automation.

In this application the elastic member is considered and is frequentlyreferred to as a tie which is elastically elongatable. The termelongatable" is intended to mean ability to lengthen in the spatialsense directly by tensile deformation, of the tie material,substantially throughout the effective working area of, and at saidarea, in the direction of lines intersecting the plane of, an imaginarycross-section of the tie-all as understood in that branch of mechanicswhich treats of the resistance of materials.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the inventionreference should be had to the following detailed description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of one of said'closures embodied by theinvention;

FIGURE 2 is a central longitudinal section, to an enlarged scale, of theegress end of the closure shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged transverse section, with parts broken away, ofthe egress end of the closure shown in FIGURE -1;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of another of said closures embodied bythe invention;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged, central longitudinal section of the egress endof the closure shown in FIG- URE 4;

FIGURE 6, showing a modified form of the arrangement in FIGURE 4,illustrates in perspective another embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 7 is a central longitudinal section, to an enlarged scale, of theegress end of the closure shown in FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 is a front elevation of the closure shown in FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 9 is a perspective view of a sealing arrangement over the egressend of the closure shown in FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE is a perspective view showing still another of said closuresembodied by this invention and a modified form of the aforementionedsealing arrangement;

FIGURE 11 is an enlarged view showing the effluent side of the egressend of a closure of the general character illustrated in FIGURE 6 andanother form of the closing means embodied by the invention;

FIGURE 12 is a longitudinal section of the egress end taken along line12--12 of FIGURE 11 and viewed in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 13 is an enlarged view showing the efiluent side of the egressend of a closure of the general character illustrated in FIGURE 4 andstill another form of the closing means embodied by the invention;

FIGURE 14 is a longitudinal section of the egress end taken along line1414 of FIGURE 13 and viewed in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 15 is a perspective view of an additional closure embodied by theinvention and having a body of a different type from the aforementionedclosures, which view shows the closure partly open as though fluid werebeing discharged therefrom;

#FIGURE 16 is a longitudinal section of the closure of FIGURE 15 takenon line 16-16 of FIGURE 17 and viewed in the direction of the arrows,which line is perpendicularly offset through the center of the figure;

FIGURE 17 is a front elevation of the closure of FIGURE 15; and

FIGURE 18 is a perspective view of the main supporting element or bodyof the closure of FIGURE 15, which view best shows the details of itsshape in one illustration.

Similar parts are denoted by the same characters of reference throughoutthe specification and drawings.

Referring first to FIGURES 1 to 3, the closure body 1 is preferablyconstructed from a segment of thin wall flexible tubing, such as rubber,flexible plastic or the like. The egress end of the tubing 1 isflattened by pressing the opposite inner sides of the tubing walltogether for a short interval of length immediately behind the actualend edge 7. Within this interval of length, the mated sides of thecompletely collapsed part of the tubing 1 are laced together withstitching 2 of an elastic thread. The stitching 2 preferably extendsacross the entire width of the egress end in parallel relation to theend edge 7 to maintain the tubing 1 in a collapsed and closed conditionwhen effiux is not desired. When the pressure of the fluid or powder tobe extruded is sufficiently increased, this pressure against the insidesurface of the tubing 1 will cause the elastic stitching 2 to yield andpermit egress of the contents. By adequately reducing the pressure ofthe contents still within the tubing 1, said stitching will recover andagain bring the sides of the egress together.

The stitching 2 can be of any desired type using a thread size mostsuitable for the various conditions ineluding stiffness of the egresswall, viscosity of the material to be ejected, spacing of the individualstitches, etc. It is of prime importance to have the spacing of theindividual stitches close enough to effect a seal across the entirewidth of the egress end when not permitting discharge. It is also ofgreat importance to provide suflicient tension in the individualstitches to assure automatic closing immediately after discharge. Theends of the threads where the stitching 2 terminates are preferablyfused together to prevent the stitching from unravelling. The threadends can also be fused or glued to the tubing 1 as a means for securingthem.

FIGURES 4 and 5 illustrate another arrangement in which the egress endof the flexible tubing 1 is yieldably retained in a collapsed and closedcondition by means of a casting made from a suitable elastic material.In this case, the tubing 1 has one or more spaced-apart perforationspreferably aligned across the egress end a small distance from theactual end edge 7 and extending completely through both wall thicknessesof the mated sides.

The casting is in the form of one or more elastic filaments 3,preferably cylindrical, which pass through said respective perforationsfrom one side of the egress end to the opposite side and have a singlehead 4 at their extremities in the form of a band, here shown having arectangular section. In lieu of the band 4, the elastic filaments 3 canbe headed in a variety of ways without deviating from the purpose ofanchoring the ends of each filament with respect to the outside wallsurfaces of the egress end of the tubing 1. Hence, said filaments canhave a common head of any suitable volumetric shape on each side of theegress end of the tubing 1 or they can be individually headed.

In lieu of the various types of heads, the ends of the filaments 3 maybe extended, lapped onto the exterior sides of the egress end andcemented or fused thereto; or they can be similarly anchored to the ribs5, 5 of the embodiment shown in FIGURE 6 hereinafter described, whichribs may also serve as suitable heads. Like the aforementionedstitching, it is of prime importance to properly size and longitudinallyprestress said filaments to assure closing immediately after discharge.

In the arrangement of FIGURES 6 to 8, the egress end of the flexibletubing 1 closes in arcuate abutment and the mated sides thereof are heldunited by being squeezed between two ribs 5, 5 at opposite sides of theegress end. The ribs 5, 5, here shown as two thin rigid strips ofrectangular section bent concentric with respect to each other, areperforated along their major axes to provide passage for thespaced-apart elastic filaments 3, which link common heads 6,6 also atopposite sides of the egress end and are tensibly biased to urge saidribs inwardly. In the case of a thin pliant material being used for thebody, the ribs are employed to give rigid backing to the wall betweenthe filaments to help maintain closure of the egress end throughout thewhole of its width when efllux is not desired. The ribs may be modifiedin many ways without departing from the scope of their purpose toprovide firm anchorage for the filament ends, to insure adequatestiffness of the egress wall between the filaments and to :give desiredshape to the aperture when the ribs are permitted to spread apart byelongation of the filaments. For example, the ribs 5,5 may be of anysuitable crosssection and straight or bent to unite the opposite sidesof the egress wall on any practicable line of closure.

FIGURE It) depicts an embodiment of the invention which provides anunobstructed egress passage with closure on mutually perpendicularlines. The mated sides of the fully collapsed egress end of the tubing 1are held united by being squeezed between four rigid ribs 11 linked byelastically elongatable ties 12 tensibly biased to urge said ribsinwardly. The ribs 11, here shown as rightangled strips of preferablyrectangular section, are symmetrically arranged about the longitudinalaxis of the tubing 1 and are secured from sliding with respect to sameby adhesive attachment at the heel of each as indicated by dottedoutline 14. The ties 12 are segments of a thin strip of elasticmaterial, whose end portions 13 are secured to the respective ends ofthe ribs 11 by preferably cementing or fusing them together in lappedconnection as shown. Sufiicient pressure of the contents within thetubing 1 will cause the ties 12 to elongate so that the mated sides andthe ribs 11 will spread apart to produce an aperture and efllux having atransverse section of cruciform shape. This arrangement furtherillustrates the use of ribs to give shape to the aperture and tocooperate in maintaining the mated sides of the egress end united whenetflux is not desired.

FIGURES 11 and 12 illustrate a form of an elastically elongata-ble tieused when the mated sides of egress end close throughout their effectiveWidth in arcuate abutment without reverse curvature. The egress end ofthe tubing 1 is yieldably held in a closed condition by being squeezedbetween the rib 15 at the concave side thereof and the elasticallyelongatable band 16 tightly wrapped over the convex side thereof. Theband 16 is a segment of a thin strip of elastic material, whose endportions 17 are secured to the respective ends of the ribs by preferablycementing or fusing them together in lapped connection as shown. The rib15 is here depicted as a thin rigid strip shaped as a segment of acircle with the abutting surfaces of the middle third of the spanthereof and the egress end preferably cemented together to preventsliding move ment there-between.

FIGURES 13 and 14 show an arrangement where the egress end of the tubing1 is gathered into radial folds and yieldably constrained to a closedcondition by the elastically elongatable band 18. In this case, thewalls 19 of the mated sides of the egress end are shown preferablyradially and evenly tapered from maximum thickness at the band 13 tozero thickness at the longitudinal axis of the egress end to bring aboutclosure on radial loci 10. The abutting surfaces 26 of the band 18 andany two, outer, diametrically opposite return bends of the folds are, bypreference, cemented together to prevent slippage of the band 18 alongthe egress end. A thin film of a suitable lubricant, such as aparaffin-based grease, is also preferably placed between the remainingabutting surfaces of the band and the return bends of the folds toreduce frictional resistance to motion therebetween.

In most cases it is optionally desirable to use a tapered or bell-shapedflexible tubular body I, having the larger end collapsed to a closedcondition and employed as the egress end, to obtain an approximatelyuniform overall width along the entire body length. The body 1 may alsobe premolded as in its closed condition and appropriately slit to createan egress passage.

The closure depicted in FIGURES 15 through 18 is fashioned frombasically two parts: an elastic sleeve 21 and a rigid or semi-rigidcylindrical body 22. having complementary movable walls 23. The ingressend and transition section of the body are tubular With the bore thereoftapered for the full length of the transition section to an apex at itsdownstream extremity. The movable walls are diametrically opposedsectors severed from the transition section and solid egress end, thusleaving the main supporting element shown in FIGURE 18. Surrounding thebody 22 and its movable walls 23 in their assembled condition is theelastic sleeve 21 which is biased to urge the walls radially inward totheir seated condition for bringing about and yieldably maintainingclosure. The abutting surfaces of the sleeve and the movable walls, andalso the sleeve :and the ingress end of the body 22, are bonded togetherto prevent slippage therebetween.

This arrangement provides an efiicient yieldable outlet whose movableWalls 23 are peripherally linked by elastically elongatable vincula 26tightly wrapped around the remaining sectors 2 of the body 22. Thesevincula bind together and yieldably maintain the mated sides of themovable walls 23 and the sectors 24 united along their effective widthfor closure.

This closure also operates on the same principle as the other closuresherein presented. When the pressure of the fluid against the innerconverging surfaces of the movable walls is sufiiciently increased, thevincula 26 peripherally elongate and thereby allow the movable walls tospread apart for egress through the passageways 27. Upon reduction ofthis pressure the vincula elastically shorten to bring about closure.

The thread of the stitching 2, the filaments 3 and their respectiveheads 4 and 6, the ties 12, the bands 16 and 18, and the sleeve 21 aremade of rubber or any other suitable material having adequateelasticity. The ribs 5, 11 and 15, and the body 22 including the movablewalls 23 are made of rigid metal or rigid plastic but other suitablematerials can be used for this purpose.

It will be appreciated that any of the arrangements and elements hereindescribed may, when it is possible, be employed in combination with eachother; for example, the ribs 5, 5 shown in FIGURES 6 to 8 may be employed in the embodiments shown in FIGURES 1 to 3 and FIGURES 4 and 5.Moreover, the rib 5 at the convex side of the egress end, shown inFIGURES 6 to 8, is preferably eliminated when the sides of the egressend close in transverse arcuate abutment as illustrated. In this case,it can be obviously realized that a filament 3 is required at each ofthe side extremities of the abutting surfaces of the mated sides toeffect closure throughout the whole of the width of the egress end.

It will also be appreciated that the closures herein described have manyapplications and will therefore be connected to a variety of collapsibletubes, containers, reservoirs, conduits, etc. The connection of each canbe made by any of many conventional means; for example, the infiuent endof each of the closures herein described having a flexible body can beslipped over the end of a short tubular outlet of the reservoir orcontainer, and held in place by friction, an adhesive substance, or asuitable clamp. Moreover, such a closure body can be an integral portionof a relatively long flexible conduit or collapsible tube of a unitaryand continuous material. The influent end of the closure body 22 can beinternally threaded and screwed onto a threaded tubular outlet of thereservoir or container.

In some cases it will be desirable to provide a disposable seal to beremoved by the user. FIGURES 9 and 10 each show a seal comprising acovering strip 8 made of a thin pliable material, such as paper, plasticimpregnated cloth, or the like, and adaptable to any of the closuresherein described. The covering strip 8 is secured to the egress end bynon-solidifying adhesive attachment surrounding the locus-of-closure 10at the front of the egress end. A portion 9 of each covering strip 8 isleft free of adhesive to serve as a pull for removal of the seal. InFIGURE 9 the strip 8 is shown doubled about one of its axes over theegress end of the closure depicted in FIGURES 1 to 3, and in FIGURE 10the strip 8 is shown cut to the dimensions outlined by end edge 7 ofthat particular arrangement.

Thus, among others, the several objects of the invention, asspecifically aforenoted, are achieved. Obviously, numerous changes inconstruction and rearrangement of parts providing other embodimentsmight be resorted to without departing from the scope and spirit of theinvention as defined by the claims.

Since a tubular body may be a single enclosing element, as hereindisclosed, it is to be understood that the term Wall is also intended tomeans that portion of the body which belongs to a side or boundaryelement of the egress aperture.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended tocover all of the generic and specific features of the invention hereindescribed, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as amatter of language, might be said to fall therewithin.

Having described my invention, What I claim is new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. An automatic valvular closure comprising at least: a flexible tubularbody collapsed to a closed condition at its egress end; and at least oneelastically elongatable filament adapted to yieldably maintain the matedsides of said egress end united throughout their effective width, saidfilament passing through the mated sides united there by and having therespective ends thereof anchored to opposite sides of said egress end;whereby said egress end opens and said filament elongatingly yields,when pressure is exerted against the interior surface of said body bythe contents therewithin, to give egress to said contents and said endis closed again by at least said filament when said pressure is reduced.

2. An automatic valvular closure comprising at least: a flexible tubularbody collapsed to a closed condition at its egress end; and elasticstitching adapted to yieldably maintain the mated sides of said egressend united throughout their effective width, said stitching passingthrough said mated sides; whereby said egress end opens and saidstitching yields, when pressure is exerted against the interior surfaceof said body by the contents therewithin, to give egress to saidcontents and said end is closed again by said stitching when saidpressure is reduced.

3. In an automatic valvular closure having an egress wall collapsible toa closed condition with a second egress wall; at least one elasticallyelongatable tie lacing said egress walls together and adapted toyieldably maintain the mated sides of said egress walls united alongtheir effective width; whereby said tie elongatingly yields when thefirst-mentioned egress wall opens, and said tie elastically shortenswhen the firsbmentioned egress wall closes.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 156,908 11/1874 Brock 137-5251Layden 137-5251 X line-ding 137-5251 X Sipe 137-525.1 Crane 222-490 XW'eaver 137-5251 Pernu 222-491 Langdon 137-5251 Browne 137-5251 Gefiroy137-5251 Herzig 222-491 Herzig W 222-491 X Zillman 137-5251 X GreatBritain.

WILLIAM F. ODEA, Primary Exmniner.

HOWARD COHN, Assistant Examiner.

1. AN AUTOMATIC VALVULAR CLOSURE COMPRISING AT LEAST: A FLEXIBLE TUBULARBODY COLLAPSED TO A CLOSED CONDITION AT ITS EGRESS END; AND AT LEAST ONEELASTICALLY ELONGATABLE FILAMENT ADAPTED TO YIELDABLY MAINTAIN THE MATEDSIDES OF SAID EGRESS END UNITED THROUGHOUT THEIR EFFECTIVE WIDTH, SAIDFILAMENT PASSING THROUGH THE MATED SIDES UNITED THEREBY AND HAVING THERESPECTIVE ENDS THEREOF ANCHORED TO